Reed trimmer



L. CORDIER REED TRIMMER Feb/23, 1954 Filed April 9, 1951 INVEHTOR.

LUCIE/ Co RD! E R BII Patented Feb. 23, 1954 l REED TRIMMER Lucien Cordier, Arnouville les Gonesse, France Application Aprilil, 1951, Serial No. 219,952

Claims priority, application France November '7, 1950 This invention relates to reed trimmers and more particularly to an improved actuating device therefor.

It is known that musician performers such, as

clarinettists, saxophonists, oboists and other playersof reed instruments must trim their reeds whenever these have become deteriorated or worn by continuously blowing or pinching them with the lips or for any other cause.

To do so they use a cutting tool fitted with a punching tool having the desired rounded shape. This cutting tool or reed trimmer consists as a rule of a die member on which the reed to be trimmed is placed and then cut by exerting a relatively strong pressure upon the punching member. Thin reeds are thus easily cut but when thick reeds are to be trimmed or when the trimming device has been used many times the pressure to be exerted on it is such that many musicians, who are generally more nimble than strongfingered, find it rather diificult to perform this operation.

It is the scope of this invention to avoid this drawbaclrofexisting reed trimmers by providing an improved reed trimmer characterizedessentially by the fact that the punching member thereof is actuated through the medium of a self-returning lever whereby the hardest and thickest reeds may be out quickly and regularly with a small eifort and Without the slightest difiiculty.

These and other characteristic features of the invention will appear clearly from the following description if reference is made to the aflixed drawing illustrating diagrammatically by way of example one possible embodiment of the invention. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an improved reed trimmer the punching member of which is actuated through the medium of a lever;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, at a greater scale, of the reed trimmer in its inoperative position;

Fig. 3 is an elevational broken fragmentary view of the reed trimmer in its operative position;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the reed trimmer.

The improved reed trimmer according to the invention (Fig. 1) consists of a stamped plate acting both as a die member 2 and a punching member 3, the free end 3a of the latter facing the cutting edge of the die member 2 and is normally slightly offset from the plane of the latter. The stamped plate forming the die and punch members 2, 3 ismounted on a frame member I formed with an aperture 8. On the bottom end of the frame member is slidably mounted an adjusting 2 Claims. (01. 30-229) slide 9 held thereon by a leaf spring I ll fast with the slide 9 and bearing on either sides of an aperture l I. A spring clip [2 is hingedly mounted at I3 on the rear face of the slide 9 and formed with a head I211. A screw [4 formed with a knurled head engages a cooperating threaded bore in the slide and is held against axial mo tion by the bottom end of the frame member I so that by turning the screw in one or in the other direction the slide may be moved up or down at will.

The reed trimmer also comprises an actuating lever I5 consisting of two shaft portions I5a journaled in suitable recesses provided in the side portions of the frame member I, a cam portion ltb kept in constant engagement with the punching member 3 by the offset position and. resiliency of the latter, and a control portion l5c which is preferably so bent as to fit around the trimmer frame I in order to reduce its overall dimensions. Also preferably, this control portion l5c is formed with gripping means and urged in its inoperative position by the resiliency of the punching mem ber against a check member l6 fast or formed in the gap formed between the die member 2' and said punch 3, the opposite portion of the reed is placed on the slide 9 and held thereon by means of the spring clip l2 which is readily closed by the engagement of its head l2a with the cooperating edge of the slide. Then the screw l 4 is turned in the direction and to the extent corresponding to the amount of reed material to be cut off. Finally, by merely exerting a moderate pressure on the lever l5 (Fig. 3) the reed is trimmed without any appreciable effort. As a matter of fact, by rotating the shaft portions |5a of the lever in the anticlockwise direction the cranked portion [5?) thereof will exert a relatively high pressure against the punching member 3 whereby the reed end will be firstly clamped and then cut off by the cooperating cutting edges of die member 2 and free end 3a of punching member 3. Thus, a spotless unching of the reed is obtained without effort and the reed is ready for use.

It will be obvious that many alterations may be brought to the embodiment shown and described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the cranked portion 15b of the actuating lever l 5 may be bent to any desired shape provided it exerts the aforeportion having a cutting edge extending towards the other end of said frame member, said punching portion being at its juncture with saidplate member bent on one side relative to the plane of said plate member and having an inher'ent'resiliency such as to constantly urge-same toward said side thereby forming between said punching portion and said die portion a gap, in which the reed v portion to be trimmed may be introduced to the desired extent, a pin disposed transversely of said punching portion on the side where said punching portion is bent and comprising a pair of shaft pardons" jourhaled' in the s'ide 'p'o'rtions or said frame member, one of said shaft, portions being formed with a: bent lateral":extension forming an actuatiri'gflevr fitting the external contour of said other end of said frame member, a cranked portion of the pin itself against whieh's'aid punching portion is urged by 'its'resiliericy, said cranked portion or the pin being adapted to hold said punching p'ortiori afplane slightly" offset'from that of said die portion when said actuating lever is substantially in the plane of said frame membenand-a'daptedto' engage said punching'portion for urging it towards saidjcutting edge of said die portion" when said actuating lever is moved angularly from its positionsubjstantially' in the plane of said frame member, i. eiits"inoperative position', a' check member fast'with the external contour of sai'd othe'r end of said framemember, said actuating'inember'being urgedagainst said checklme'mberdn' inoperative position by the resiliencyof saidpun'ching portion.

" v2. A reed trimmer comprising" in combination an oblong frame member formed with an oblong aperture, 'a'plate member fast with said frame member and formedwithja" dieportion having a cutting edge extending towards one end of said frame member and with a punching resilient porti'on having'a cutting edge extending towards the otherend'of said framemember; said punching portion being at its juncture with said plate member bent on one side relative to the plane of said plate member and having an inherent resiliency such as to constantly urge same toward said side thereby forming between said punching portion and said die portion a gap, in which the reed portion to be trimmed may be introduced to the desiredextent; an extension of said one end of said frame member, a slide slidably mounted on said extension, means for fixing the reed to be trimmed on said slide, and means for adjustably controlling the displacement of said slide along said extension, a pin disposed transversely of said "punchingp'ortiono'n the side where said punch- 15.

ing" portion is bent and comprising a pair of shaft portions journaled in the side portions of said' -framemember, one of said shaft portions "being formed with a bent lateral extension forming anqactuating lever fitting the external eontour of said other endof said frame member, a cranked portion of thepin itself against which said punching portionis urged by its resiliency, said cranked portion of the pin beingladapted to hold said punching portion in a plane slightly offset from that of saiddie portion when said actuating lever is substantially in thefiplane of said frame member, and adapted to engage said punching portion for urging it towards said cutting edge of said die portion when'said actuating lever is moved angularly from its position substantially in the plane of said'frarhe .member, i. e.

its inoperative position, a'check member fast with the external'co'ntourof said "other endof said frame member; said actuating" "member being urged against said check member'in inoperative position bythe resiliency of said punching portion.

LUoiEN' CORDIER.

References Cited in 'the'fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 1,574,420 a Finder Feb, 23, 1926 2,465,207 Day Mar. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,434 Gre'at -Britain Novpll, 1904 

